''Cucullia artemisiae'', or scarce wormwood, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Uckerfelde, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothin ...

in 1766. It is found from central and southern Europe to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and across the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

to western

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

, the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Technical description and variation

''C. artemisiae'' Hufn. (= ''abrotani'' F.) (26 c). Forewing grey with grey-brown suffusion along costa and the course of the lines; lines double, dark; the inner angled outwards between and inwards the outer clear only below middle; veins finely black; a pale space below cell represents the claviform stigma, which is sometimes edged above and below by two fine black lines; orbicular and reniform distinct, with brown centres and whitish grey annuli outlined with black; subterminal line followed by a diffused row of dentate brownish marks; hindwing brownish, paler towards base — the ab. ''lindei'' Heyne ow full species ''Cucullia lindei'' Heyne, 1899 (26 c), from the neighbourhood of Moscow only, is a local form in which the forewing is suffused throughout with blackish grey. — Larva green, with darker segmental lines; dorsal line white, fine; lateral stripe broad, yellow, somewhat interrupted; spiracles white in black rings; tubercles red; head brown, blackish behind, with a pale-edged frontal triangle; venter pale green with two fine green lines, which on 3rd and 4 th segments show redbrown. Warren. W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 37–42 mm.

Biology

Adults are on wing from June to July. The larvae feed on '' Artemisia'' species, including ''

Artemisia absinthium ''Artemisia absinthium'', otherwise known as common wormwood, is a species of '' Artemisia'' native to North Africa and temperate regions of Eurasia, and widely naturalized in Canada and the northern United States. It is grown as an ornamental ...

'', ''

Artemisia campestris ''Artemisia campestris'' is a common and widespread species of plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is native to a wide region of Eurasia and North America. Common names include field wormwood, beach wormwood, northern wormwood, Breckl ...

'' and ''

Artemisia vulgaris ''Artemisia vulgaris'', commonly known as mugwort, common mugwort, or wormwood, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus '' Artemisia'' commonly known as mugwort, although ''Art ...

''. Other recorded food plants include ''

Matricaria ''Matricaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the chamomile tribe within the sunflower family. Some of the species have the common name of "mayweed", but this name also refers to plants not in this genus. Description Their many-branched ...

'' and ''

Tanacetum vulgare Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the Asteraceae, aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North Ameri ...

''.

References

External links

''Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa''''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e. V.''
Cucullia Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Moths described in 1766 {{Cuculliinae-stub